Various embodiments comprise apparatuses and related method for cleaning and drying a substrate. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a vertical substrate holder to hold and rotate the substrate at various speeds. An inner shield and outer shield, when in a closed position, surround the vertical substrate holder during operation of the apparatus. Each of the shields can operate independently in at least one of rotational speed and direction from the other shield. A front-side and back-side spray jet are arranged to spray at least one fluid onto both sides of the substrate and edges of the substrate substantially concurrently. A gas flow, combined with a high rotational-speed of the shields and substrate, assists in drying the substrate. At least one turbine disk is coupled in proximity to at least one of the shields to remove excess amounts of fluid. Additional apparatuses and methods of forming the apparatuses are disclosed.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A substrate cleaning and drying apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a vertical substrate holder configured to hold and rotate the substrate vertically at various speeds; an inner shield and an outer shield configured to at least partially surround the vertical substrate holder during operation of the apparatus, each of the inner shield and the outer shield being configured to rotate vertically and independently from each other in at least one of rotational speed and direction from the other shield; a front-side spray jet array and a back-side spray jet array, each of the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array being configured to spray at least one fluid onto both sides of the substrate and edges of the substrate substantially concurrently; and at least one substantially-planar turbine disk coupled vertically and in proximity to at least one of the inner shield and the outer shield and configured to remove an excess amount of the at least one fluid, the at least one turbine disk having a plurality of spaced-apart fins, each of the fins being separated from adjacent fins by an opening formed within and near a periphery of the turbine disk, the fins being arranged to evacuate the at least one fluid and other process effluents away from both the substrate and a volume between the inner shield and the outer shield surrounding the substrate.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an outer chamber to contain the at least one fluid and the other process effluents.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the outer chamber includes a drain channel to collect liquid evacuated from the vertical substrate cleaning and drying chamber.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to clean both faces of the substrate, as well as an edge of the substrate, substantially simultaneously.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one array selected from the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array includes spray jets arranged to deliver a continuous-liquid spray of one or more liquids to the substrate.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one array selected from the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array includes spray jets arranged to deliver a pulsed-liquid spray of one or more liquids to the substrate.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the pulsed-liquid spray jets are gasless pulsed-jets not requiring a gas to produce the pulsed-liquid spray.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a diaphragm pump to produce the gasless pulsed-jets.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a variable-frequency drive coupled to supply power to the diaphragm pump.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the variable-frequency drive is configured to operate in a 1 Hz to 10 Hz frequency range to produce atomized droplets from the spray jets.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one array selected from the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array includes spray jets arranged to deliver at least one of continuous-liquid sprays and pulsed-liquid sprays of one or more liquids to the substrate.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one array selected from the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array includes spray jets arranged to deliver both continuous-liquid sprays and pulsed-liquid sprays of one or more liquids to the substrate.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second turbine disk coupled in proximity to a remaining one of the inner shield and the outer shield that does not have the at least one turbine disk coupled in proximity thereto.
14. A method for cleaning and drying a substrate in a substrate cleaning and drying mechanism, the substrate cleaning and drying mechanism having a single chamber for both cleaning and drying operations, the method comprising: mounting a substrate vertically in the substrate cleaning and drying mechanism; at least partially surrounding the substrate between a first vertically-oriented rotatable shield and a second vertically-oriented rotatable shield; rotating the substrate at a first rotational-velocity; spraying at least one liquid onto at least a first face of the substrate; spinning the first vertically-oriented rotatable shield at a first-shield rotational-velocity; spinning the second vertically-oriented rotatable shield at a second-shield rotational-velocity; spinning a substantially planar and vertically-oriented turbine disk at a turbine-disk rotational velocity, the vertically-oriented turbine disk having a plurality of spaced-apart fins, each of the fins being separated from adjacent fins by an opening formed within and near a periphery of the vertically-oriented turbine disk; evacuating the at least one liquid and other process effluents away from both the substrate and a volume between a combination of the first vertically-oriented rotatable shield and the second vertically-oriented rotatable shield and an outer shield surrounding the substrate by use of the spinning vertically-oriented turbine disk; and increasing the first rotational-velocity of the substrate.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the turbine-disk rotational velocity and a direction of the vertically-oriented turbine disk are both the same as at least one of the first-shield rotational-velocity and a direction of the first vertically-oriented rotatable shield and the second-shield rotational-velocity and a direction of the second vertically-oriented rotatable shield.
16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising spraying the at least one liquid onto both faces and an edge of the substrate substantially simultaneously.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first-shield rotational-velocity and the second-shield rotational-velocity are about the same as each other.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first-shield rotational-velocity and the second-shield rotational-velocity are different from one another.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein a direction of the first-shield rotational-velocity and a direction of the second-shield rotational-velocity are the same as each other.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein a direction of the first-shield rotational-velocity and a direction of the second-shield rotational-velocity are different from one another.
21. The method of claim 14 , further comprising increasing the first-shield rotational-velocity to begin drying the substrate.
22. The method of claim 14 , further comprising increasing the second-shield rotational-velocity to begin drying the substrate.
23. The method of claim 14 , further comprising increasing the turbine-disk rotational-velocity to begin drying the substrate.
24. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first-shield rotational-velocity, the second-shield rotational-velocity, and the turbine-disk rotational velocity are each ramped up from about 100 rpm to about 2200 rpm during a high-speed spin to dry the substrate.
25. The method of claim 14 , further comprising providing a gas exhaust from the substrate cleaning and drying mechanism during a cleaning cycle.
26. A substrate cleaning and drying apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a vertical substrate holder configured to hold and rotate the substrate at various speeds; a first inner shield and a second inner shield configured to surround the vertical substrate holder during operation of the apparatus, each of the first inner shield and the second inner shield being configured to rotate vertically and independently from each other in at least one of rotational speed and direction from the other inner shield; a front-side spray jet array, a back-side spray jet array, and at least one edge jet, each of the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array being configured to spray at least one fluid onto both sides, respectively, of the substrate substantially concurrently, and the at least one edge jet being configured to spray edges of the substrate substantially concurrently with the spraying of both sides of the substrate; and at least one substantially-planar turbine disk coupled vertically and in proximity to each of the first inner shield and the second inner shield, respectively, and configured to remove an excess amount of the at least one fluid, the at least one turbine disk having a plurality of spaced-apart fins, each of the fins being separated from adjacent fins by an opening formed within and near a periphery of the turbine disk, the plurality of spaced-apart fins being arranged to evacuate the at least one fluid and other process effluents away from both the substrate and a volume between the first inner shield and the second inner shield surrounding the substrate.
27. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the fins of each of the substantially-planar turbine disks is configured to increase fluid-removal efficiency during a rotational period of the plurality of turbine disks.
28. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the substrate cleaning and drying apparatus has a center exhaust located between the first inner shield and the second inner shield for removing the at least one fluid and other process effluents.
29. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the substrate cleaning and drying apparatus has a side exhaust on at least one of the first inner shield and the second inner shield for removing the at least one fluid and other process effluents.
30. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein peripheral edges of the first inner shield and the second inner shield each have one or more angles on respective outermost peripheral edges to redirect the at least one fluid including moisture and the other process effluents away from the substrate.
31. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein peripheral edges of the first inner shield and the second inner shield are curved.
32. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the front-side spray jet array and the back-side spray jet array are arranged to cover at least the entire diameter of the substrate on each face of the substrate thereby providing liquid to each entire face once the substrate has been rotated.
33. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising one or more additional edge-jets to be directed separately at an edge of the substrate to perform enhanced edge cleaning.
34. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the plurality of spaced-apart fins on the turbine disk have a straight cross-section and are angled, relative to an axis-of-rotation of the turbine disk.
35. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the plurality of spaced-apart fins on the turbine disk have an elliptical cross-section and are angled, relative to an axis-of-rotation of the turbine disk.
36. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the plurality of spaced-apart fins on the turbine disk have a curved cross-section and are angled, relative to an axis-of-rotation of the turbine disk.
37. The substrate cleaning and drying apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the plurality of spaced-apart fins on the turbine disk have a cross-section that is formed as a series of straight edges with varying angles, an average angle of the varying angles being angled overall, relative to an axis-of-rotation of the turbine disk.
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February 6, 2018
January 12, 2021
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